Friday, 15 July 2016

Why Real Madrid decided not to sign €250m Pogba

The Spanish side are content to sit back and let
Manchester United take the lead on a transfer as the Serie A champions
ask for exorbitant sums in an expensive operation

SPECIAL REPORT
With a month and a half left in the transfer window, it looks as if
Real Madrid will not sign a Galactico. Paul Pogba had appeared to fit
the bill as a marquee signing for the club this summer, and although he
is not 100 percent ruled out, his arrival at the Santiago Bernabeu now
seems unlikely.

Goal has found out that Pogba is
nowhere near a move to Madrid at this point in time, with Manchester
United seemingly set to offer whatever it takes to prise the France
midfielder away from Juventus.

Madrid have tracked Pogba for some
time. Detailed reports on the 23-year-old speak highly of his qualities
and also his temperament off the pitch. However, the operation would
cost Los Blancos in excess of €250 million - an exorbitant sum in an inflated market.

Pogba
is a man in demand and Juventus know they can call the shots.
Therefore, the transfer fee is never going to be any less than €100m, an
amount already offered - according to Sky Sports - by United. And Radio Marca
revealed a few weeks ago that Juventus had asked Madrid for €120m plus
Toni Kroos in an informal conversation - which reveals the extent of the
cost of a possible deal.

But on top of that, there's the player's salary. The Frenchman is
reported to have asked for around €14m per season after tax to leave
Turin,
where Juve are also preparing a lucrative contract renewal for
their talented midfielder. And in Madrid's case, given the tax system in
Spain, that would mean a total of €130m over five seasons.

And
as if that were not enough, agent Mino Raiola will also take a 20 per
cent stake in any transfer - another €20 or €30m depending on the final
fee. All of that added up makes a total in excess of €250m,
approximately - an amount that is considered too high even by big
spenders Real Madrid. Despite the player's talent and potential, despite
the need to build for the future - and despite the fact that the club
are banned from transfers for the next two windows.

However, Goal
understands that signing Pogba could also upset the wage distribution
structure at Real, with that another consideration for Florentino Perez
and his board. Because if Madrid agreed to pay the Frenchman €14m per
year after tax, that would make him the second-best-paid player at the
club, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 23-year-old would earn
more than Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, which may not sit
too well with those three players and others. Madrid have carefully
maintained a wage structure over the past few years, with salaries
increased on merit, but bringing in Pogba on €14m a year would likely
mean the club would have to pay out larger wages to several other
members of their squad.

The conditions, then, are not at all favourable for Real. Pogba did
not have the best Euro 2016, but Juve's offer of a new deal, plus
Manchester United's keen interest, mean Madrid would have to pay big for
the midfielder. And with Alvaro Morata likely to stay at the Bernabeu,
the Spain striker is no longer a bargaining tool in a possible move for
the Frenchman.

With Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, James Rodriguez,
Isco, Casemiro and Mateo Kovacic all at the Bernabeu, Madrid are
currently well-stocked in the midfield department, anyway, and are
reluctant to proceed with such a large outlay for Pogba as Raiola's
demands push up the value of what is likely to be the summer's most
expensive transfer.

So there are lots of factors stacked against Madrid at the moment and Sportmasta
understands that the Spanish side have now practically ruled out the
midfielder's arrival due to the exorbitant sums needed to bring him in
this summer.

There is still time for things to change, of course, but given the
movements in Italy and England with a month and a half left in the
window, it now seems unlikely that Paul Pogba will end up at Real at the
end of the transfer window.